Journal of Nutritional Disorders & Therapy

Association between lifestyle, dietary factors and body composition among Notre Dame University students: A cross-sectional study

JOINT EVENT: 13^th International Congress on Advances in Natural Medicines Nutraceuticals & Neurocognition & 14^th International Conference on Clinical Nutrition

July 27-29, 2017 Rome, Italy

Jessy El Hayek Fares, Sibelle Al Hayek, Jaafar Jaafar, Nathalie Djabrayan and Antoine Farhat

Notre Dame University, Lebanon

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nutr Disorders Ther

Abstract:

This study aims to examine the effect of dietary, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors on body composition among students from Notre Dame University. In this cross-sectional study, socio-demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric variables including body composition (soft lean mass (SLM), percent body fat (PBF), and visceral fat area (VFA)) were collected. Stress was assessed through the perceived stress scale (PSS). Diet was assessed through MEDFICTS. Out of 392 students, 3.1% were underweight, 59% were normal, 40% were overweight and obese. In women, 10.5%, adhered to the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) compared to men (2.5%), while 52.5% of men needed dietary changes compared to 39.5% of women, (p<0.01). Men who adhered to TLC were in the first tertile of PBF. Participants in the first tertile of PBF/VFA/SLM had the lowest waist circumference (WC), BMI, and highest fitness score. Only men in the first tertile of SLM had the highest waist to height (WHt). Smoking was associated with PBF in men only. Total number of hours of sleep was not associated neither with PBF/SLM in both genders nor with VFA in women, while men in the first VFA tertile slept more (7.5 hours) than those in the third tertile (6.9 hours) (p<0.01). Even though the majority of the sample was of normal weight; most men were overweight or obese. The association between lifestyle and dietary factors and body composition was not similar across genders; accordingly, it is important to provide gender based nutrition interventions in universities.

Biography :

Jessy El Hayek joined the Department of Nursing & Health Sciences at Notre Dame University in Fall 2012 shortly after completing her PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human Nutrition, in McGill University, Canada, in March 2011. Currently, she is teaching multiple graduate and undergraduate courses including basic human nutrition, lifecycle nutrition as well as community nutrition. As of September 2014, she was appointed as Chairperson of the Department of Nursing & Health Sciences.